Farmington Hills Golf Club Review

Farmington Hills Golf Club Review

Farmington Hills Golf Course
Grade: B
Teacher’s Comments: A fine muni that merits a visit from folk in the area

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Farmington Hills Golf Course is a pleasantly challenging layout that is a part parklands, part wetlands and part development course. It is a lot of course packed into a relatively small area.

The parklands holes run closest to the clubhouse; wetlands appear on the furthest parts of the front nine. The back nine is mostly a development style course, working its way past and through housing.

The overall effect is interesting. Players get a little bit of everything here (although a lot more of the development part than the others).

Farmington Hills even has what I’d call a woodlands hole: the ninth.

The ninth actually was my favorite hole on the course. It’s a dogleg right from an elevated tee. The initial shot is through a gap in the woods; a bunker at the turn will catch balls that go too far through.

There is a dip in the fairway before rising before the green. It’s a tricky hole that requires equal measures of precision and daring.

The fairways on the course are wide and encouraging, but a carry over rough or water frequently is called for. Six doglegs add variety. The front nine felt a little tight, but on the back nine, a player can get away with swinging with full gusto.Most of the holes are open and linksy.

In its current incarnation, Farmington Hills Golf Club dates to 2002, but is built on the bones of the old nine-hole San Marino Golf Course, which opened in 1963. The purchase of additional property across Halstead Road allowed the community to add nine holes, with a tunnel linking the two sides.

Don Childs Associates are listed as the architect. In some places, W. Bruce Matthews III is listed as a co-designer, but it is not listed on their website as either a new course or renovation project.

Farmington Hills GC is a moderately difficult course, with a slope/rating of 134/71.1 from the back tees.

Tee	Yardage	Slope	Rating
Black	6, 413	134	71.1
Blue	5, 959	127	68.3
White	5, 556	106	66.3
Red	5, 127	119	68.2

Conditions on the day I played were as good as any course I played in the summer of 2022. The city of Farmington Hills takes good care of its fairways and greens.

There was a bit of a kerfuffle at the beginning of the round. I was five minutes early to the tee, but the starter had already sent the group I was supposed to play with ahead. That caught me in between groups for several holes and made for an awkward beginning.

Farmington Hills golf club is a course that I would happily return to play. It has a great deal of variety, is well maintained and is quite pretty. The course also is decently priced. When I played, a round with a cart was $42 and for walkers, $27. Seniors could ride for $27.

The Farmington Hills Golf Club review was first published February 16, 2023 from notes and photos taken on a round played in the summer of 2023. For all of GolfBlogger’s Michigan Golf Course reviews, follow the link.

A photo tour of Farmington Hills Golf Club follows: